The World’s Longest Running Musical Finally Arrives in Sydney

What is the world’s longest-running musical theatre production? Cats? The Phantom of the Opera? Chicago? The Lion King? No, it’s a boutique musical with a poetic book and a breezy, inventive score which has been performed all around the globe – The Fantasticks. The show’s original off-Broadway production ran a total of 42 years and 17,162 performances, making it the world’s longest-running musical.

Whimsical, poignant and romantic, The Fantasticks focuses on two young lovers, their meddling fathers, and the journey we all must take through adolescent thrills, the growing pains of hurt and betrayal, the highs of passion, the challenges of distance and the agonies of heartbreak to discover how to truly love.

In a theatrical and inventive fashion, the gallant and enigmatic narrator – El Gallo – introduces a pair of young lovers – Matt and Luisa – who experience the magical, moonlit phase of falling in love. For a time, romance seems perpetually exciting, and heroics always seem to save the day. El Gallo leads our young protagonists from the romantic moonlight into the harsh sunshine, where the weaknesses in their relationship are exposed and the reality of the struggles and heartache love brings is revealed. With the understanding that “without a hurt the heart is hollow”, Matt and Luisa search to find their own identities, and in turn, to discover their strengths as a couple in times of both darkness and light.